Lexington 2020: Story of the tournament
From Serena vs Venus XXXI to Coco Gauff's run of upsets and Jil Teichmann's maiden hardcourt final, all the best photos from the 2020 Top Seed Open presented by Bluegrass Orthopaedics.
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Boasting an over 20-year history as an ITF World Tennis Tour event, the inaugural Top Seed Open presented by Bluegrass Orthopaedics is the first WTA-level event on U.S. soil in over a year in 2020.
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No.3 seed Johanna Konta helped christen Center Court in Lexington after rain delayed the start of the main draw, taking on Marie Bouzkova in a rematch of their semifinal in Monterrey in March.
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For the second time in five months, Bouzkova came out the winner against the British No.1 - rallying from a break down in the second set to win, 6-4, 6-4.
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Seeded No.8, Australian Open quarterfinalist Ons Jabeur dispatched talented American teenager Catherine McNally in one of six main draw singles matches to be played on Monday.
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Though her campaign as a wildcard in singles ended in the first round, McNally is seeded No.3 in the doubles draw alongside Coco Gauff.
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No.6 seed Magda Linette had a straightforward Lexington debut, dispatching American Lauren Davis in straight sets, 6-2, 6-3.
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Entering the match with a 3-1 head-to-head lead against Linette, including earlier this year in Hobart, Davis lost to the Polish No.1 for the first time in five years.
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American Madison Brengle battled for nearly two-and-a-half hours on Monday evening against No.2 seed Aryna Sabalenka before falling, 6-1, 6-7(5), 6-2.
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After winning five matches at the Qatar Total Open prior to the hiatus, Sabalenka extended her winning streak to six in a row with the victory.
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Serena Williams returned to match action to kick off Tuesday's play, rallying from a set down to beat compatriot Bernarda Pera.
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Pera's left-handed game gave Serena all she could handle in the three-set affair, before falling 4-6, 6-4, 6-1.
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Serena's husband Alexis Ohanian and daughter Olympia were two interested spectators for the match.
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Also winning in all-American action on Tuesday was Catherine Bellis, who dispatched lucky loser Francesca Di Lorenzo with the loss of just three games, 6-2, 6-1.
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Di Lorenzo stepped in for No.4 seed Amanda Anisimova, who withdrew with a right shoulder injury.
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In her first match as a 16-year-old, Coco Gauff came from a break down in the second set in an all-American match against Caroline Dolehide to win, 7-5, 7-5.
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21-year-old Dolehide successfully qualified for the main draw but was unable to take Gauff the distance after holding a 5-3 lead in the second set.
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No.5 seed Yulia Putintseva eased to a 6-0, 6-4 over Ajla Tomljanovic in her first match of the tournament.
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Instead of choosing to defend her title in Prague this week, Switzerland's Jil Teichmann is one of a handful of Europeans in the Lexington draw.
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After successfully qualifying, Russia's Anna Kalinskaya was beaten by Teichmann, 6-2, 7-5.
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After a pair marathon wins in qualifying, Kristie Ahn battled for more than two hours against Anna Blinkova before succumbing to a right knee injury late in the third set.
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The oldest player in the main draw this week, Venus Williams earned her first win of 2020 in the first round against Victoria Azarenka.
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Azarenka was bidding for her first win against Venus in five years, but fell, 6-3, 6-2, in 80 minutes.
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Qualifying for a second main draw in 2020, Belarus' Olga Govortsova dispatched American Bethanie Mattek-Sands in a meeting of two qualifiers.
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Mattek-Sands and Govortsova faced off for the first time since 2008 on Tuesday, with the Belarusian winning, 7-6(4), 6-1.
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Rounding out American winners on the day was wildcard Shelby Rogers, who served up 10 aces against Misaki Doi.
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Doi battled from a set and a break down to force a final set, but Rogers held on for the 6-4, 4-6, 6-2 win.
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In the second rematch from Monterrey in the Lexington draw, Leylah Fernandez faced off against Sloane Stephens in the final first round match.
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Stephens, seeded No.7, won the first set against Fernandez in Monterrey before losing in three sets, but was beaten 6-3, 6-3 to close out the first round in Lexington.
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Jil Teichmann scored her best victory of the season to date as she shocked Yulia Putintseva in straight sets.
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Venus Williams had sister Serena on the run during the opening set of their last-16 encounter.
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Serena fought back and improved her career three-set record to 163-62 by winning, 3-6, 6-3, 6-4 against her elder sibling.
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Catherine Bellis served up an upset as she overcame Jessica Pegula, 6-3, 6-2.
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Shelby Rogers set up a quarterfinal against Serena with a 6-2, 7-5 win with Leylah Fernandez.
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Jil Teichmann celebrates reaching the first hardcourt WTA Tour semifinal of her career after overcoming Catherine Bellis in straight sets.
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Serena Williams won the opening set against Shelby Rogers but found herself in trouble heading into a decisive tiebreak in the match.
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Rogers scored one of the greatest victories of her career as she overcame Serena, pinching the breaker 7-5 to claim victory in two hours and nine minutes.
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Jennifer Brady had no problems dispatching Marie Bouzkova, 6-1, 6-2. It took the American only 66 minutes to overcome the player one spot above her in the Rankings.
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Gauff seized her opportunity, breezing through the decider 6-1 to make her second WTA semifinal.
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Ons Jabeur held a break point to go 6-4, 5-2 up against rising star Coco Gauff, but the No.8 seed missed her chance and the match was levelled.
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Jil Teichmann, the defending champion in Palermo and Prague, opted to play Lexington as the only event in which she could gain points this week - and it paid off as the Swiss dismissed Shelby Rogers 6-3, 6-2 to reach her first hardcourt final.
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Teichmann also joined forces with Marie Bouzkova to reach a maiden WTA doubles final for both players, edging top seeds Alexa Guarachi and Desirae Krawczyk in a match tiebreak in the semifinals.
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An all-American semifinal guaranteed the tournament a home presence on the final day - and that would be the in-form Jennifer Brady, who overpowered Coco Gauff in straight sets to reach her maiden WTA final.
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In the end, it was Jennifer Brady who claimed her first-ever WTA singles title, defeating Jil Teichmann, 6-3, 6-4, in one hour and 42 minutes.
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Brady did not drop a set all week en route to her maiden WTA singles tite.
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Hayley Carter (second from right) and Luisa Stefani (far right) won their second WTA doubles title together, triumphing in Lexington over Jil Teichmann (far left) and Marie Bouzkova. They won the final 6-1, 7-5.
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